An Angus town has been dealt a huge economic blow after it missed out on a slice of Scottish Government funding.
Arbroath did not get a share of the town-centre regeneration fund, which local councillor David Fairweather has described as a huge disappointment.
The Arbroath councillor has also questioned whether the town will ever receive the cash boost it needs after neighbouring Brechin had a £1.8million allotment from the £60million fund confirmed.
This will hit the local economy, according to Mr Fairweather, who said the town centre was one of the areas of Arbroath worst affected by the economic downturn.
Mr Fairweather, independent councillor for Arbroath west, said: “When the news came through that Arbroath had missed out constituents were expressing their disappointment, it really is a huge disappointment for the town.
“A lot of the businesses in the town are doing very well, but it is the High Street that is in dire need of refurbishment. Any outside investment into Arbroath would be more than welcome as it could really help to kick-start the regeneration of the town centre.
“What a lot of people have been saying to me is that the town has voted SNP for decades, but it has missed out on vital funding. When the next batch of funding is announced, will Arbroath be left out in the cold again?”
The award for Brechin, which was the largest of the 41 grants offered to Scottish burghs, will enable Angus Council to approach owners of derelict and vacant properties in the centre to buy the units to renovate them.
At a meeting of the council’s corporate services on Thursday members unanimously agreed to accept the offer for Brechin from the government.
Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce chief executive Alan Mitchell felt the positive effects of the regeneration of Brechin town centre could help the whole of Angus. Mr Mitchell said: “When these announcements are made you can understand those that don’t win, as it were, are disappointed, but the reality is there is a finite amount of money available.
“The government has to decide which areas most need the money in response to bids from local authorities, which have to be as imaginative and as strong as possible.
“Although this will most immediately and directly benefit Brechin, it will also have knock-on effects for Arbroath in getting more people into the area, shopping here and also spending their holidays here.
“We cannot look at this in terms of narrow geographic channels but have to look at it in a wider Dundee city area context, to see how we are all doing during the economic slowdown.”